4 days ago
Edinburgh fire station with 'structural issues' could be demolished and re-built
Plans have been submitted to demolish and replace an Edinburgh fire station due to structural issues related to RAAC.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has submitted plans to the council which would see its Liberton station demolished and replaced with a two-storey building with additional modern operational requirements.
It would also include office and sleeping accommodation to support the local area as well as a multi-purpose room for community use.
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The facility, built in 1976, is said to be beyond its intended design lifespan and structural issues linked to RAAC have been identified as well as asbestos in certain locations.
The SFRS, in a design statement, said the station is "critical" to the delivery of operational response across Edinburgh and the wider area. The modern replacement would include individual rooms in place of dorms, decontamination spaces and additional equipment stores for specialist requirements.
Plans also reveal how the building will consist of two elements - the appliance bay which houses the fire vehicles and the adjacent accommodation which is the administrative, preparation and deployment area for the station.
The design statement adds how the current setup provides inefficient access between equipment storage and staff preparation areas for attending emergencies.
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They also say the current station provides challenges for contamination control, saying: "Cleaning and contamination control areas are accessed independent from the rest of building. Control should be more effectively managed within the same building.
"Areas such as the dormitories and the gym in current design do not reflect present day norms for work conditions and safety. Individual bedrooms need to be provided and will result in an increase from 40 sqm to85 sqm.
"A gym with adequate activity spaces for safe use of the equipment will increase in size to 60 sqm from 24 sqm. Likewise appropriate shower and changing facilities as well as purpose-built storage for equipment and administrative facilities will substantially increase the required building gross internal area from existing."
The planning application can be viewed in full on the council's planning portal here.
